As you walked on the Jesuit campus last Friday, you could smell the aroma of hamburgers, hotdogs, and ribs that floated through the air as the Jesuit community tailgated before Dallas Jesuit’s district opener against Sunset high school. Dunk booths, snow cones, lie detectors, and other various activities were brought to the table at the tailgating party last Friday. But the Jesuit community weren’t the only ones having a good time, for the football team did too, shutting out sunset in a 47-7 win.
To prepare for the game, during practice this week Head Coach Brandon Hickman stated, “We focused on improving our fundamentals and mental preparation.” Lately it has seemed as though mental preparation has been emphasized for the team, and it has certainly paid off. Joseph Stautner ’16 said, “in the locker room before the change the concentration levels were higher than normal,” evidence of the focus of mental preparation.
By Jesuits first drive, you knew it was gonna be a long game for the opponent. Jesuit came out punching in the first
quarter, putting up a whooping 30 points in the first 15 minutes of play. Points came through the air, on the ground, and also from the defense. Bo Schneider ’15 threw for 3 touchdowns in the first quarter, and Matthew Slovak ’15 was able to score off the ground. Defensively, Taylor Stine ’15 sacked Sunset’s QB in the end zone, resulting in a safety.
For the rest of the game, it was all uphill for the Rangers. By the end of the half, it was 44-0 Jesuit, with Charlie Eikenburg ’15 playing quarterback. Throughout the first half, Jesuit played phenomenally defensively. Going into the game, defensive coordinator Coach Thompson explained their gameplay was, “to just be aggressive, we are going to stop the run first and make them throw. ” Coach Hickman thought that defensively, Joseph Stautner ’16, Christian Nelson ’16, and Esteban Garcia ’16 played great and made some big plays for the defense.
Although the Rangers put up 44 in the first half, Sunset stepped up their defense in the second half, holding Jesuit to just 3 points. In the closing minutes of the game, Sunset managed to score one touchdown, ending the game with a score of 47-7, your Jesuit Rangers on top.
In games like this, it’s always great to see the whole team play. Coach Hickman explained himself that, “I was happy to see our backup players who have worked hard over the years get in the game and score some touchdowns and make some big tackles. It’s always nice to be able to reward these guys with all their hard work and efforts.” In the game, coach Hickman said that he saw some great teammates out there, and to him “that’s what it’s all about.”
This week, Jesuit faces a much tougher opponent: Skyline. Skyline has started off its season strong with a 4-0 record, but the Rangers plan to change that this coming Friday. Coach Hickman said “we need all of JezNation out in full force at the game,” so go support a the Rangers as the take on Skyline in Forester Stadium on October 3rd, 2014.
Photos by Jowdy Photography
